"As soon as I sat down, the woman to my right very warmly introduced herself in English and asked where I was from," says David. "When I said the US, she got very excited and said she'd lived in Pittsburgh for many years.

"She'd worked delivering newspapers, and made a point of saying why she'd enjoyed the US so much: Her boss never seemed to care that she was Muslim and wore a hijab. 'I was his best employee, and he never cared what I looked like – just that I did a good job.' "

• What US Election? While polls show that Israelis prefer Sen. John McCain, correspondent Joshua Mitnick found that most Israelis were not engaged in the US election (see story). "I went to an open-air market, a working-class place where Israeli politicians go when they want to show they have a rapport with the 'Joe the Plumbers' of Israel. But I was surprised at how many people weren't focused at all on the US election – especially since the US is such an important ally of Israel. They said they were fed up with all politics or have enough problems at home that they don't need to worry about the US's problems. One fruit vendor said, 'We don't know who our own prime minister will be. How can we pay attention to the US election?' "